


One Breath At A Time

by lotorotor



Series: Is this a healthy coping mechanism? [4]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hugs, Insomnia, Interpret this how U want but I did write Lotor with the idea of him being bpd, M/M, projecting onto fictional characters to cope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-24 23:28:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17713709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotorotor/pseuds/lotorotor
Summary: Keith’s night is interrupted by Lotor knocking on his bedroom door. Something is clearly wrong





	One Breath At A Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hi today was a very bad day so I wrote this to cheer up
> 
> It’s short but so am I so it’s okay

Keith couldn’t sleep. Again. How many nights did he spend staring at the ceiling, wishing for unconsciousness to claim him, only for it to swim at the edges of his being, just out of reach? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was this was another one and all he could do was count space sheep and hope for the best.

A knock on the door startled him to a sitting position. “Who’s that rapping at my chamber door?” He muttered as he rolled out of bed and went to see who was there.

“Keith?” A familiar silky smooth voice said through the wood. “It’s… it’s me.” 

He sounded skittish, unsure, a tad tremulous,so unlike the confident man Keith had come to know that a jab of worry slashed through his gut. Keith threw open the door and took in the sight of the seven foot tall purple man whose head was bowed as though embarrassed. Yellow eyes peeked at Keith through white eyelashes before skittering away. 

“What’s wrong, Lotor?” He asked, voice soft. 

“I…” his voice hitched and that’s when Keith knew that something was more than just wrong. Lotor did not cry, not in front of people, and he was loath to show weakness of any sort. For him to seek Keith out and allow a tear to spill over and trickle down a lavender cheek meant that something was very amiss.

“Get in.” Keith gently tugged on Lotor’s forearm, guiding him into the room until he was sitting on the bed. Making sure the door was shut tight, he sat beside him on the mattress and took Lotor’s hand in both of his.

Keith had never been good at comforting people, but he had picked up a few things from Shiro. Besides, from the beginning he’d seemed to have clicked more naturally with Lotor than any human or alien he’d encountered. Holding his hand, rubbing his thumb over the soft skin, these were not small gestures from Keith.

Lotor grasped his hand tight as a vice and his breath shuddered.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Keith offered.

“No.” The grip on his hand tightened for a moment. “I just don’t want to be alone tonight.”

Keith slid closer til they were mere inches apart. It was like he could feel a current running between them, pulling them together. “You don’t ever have to be alone again, you know.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“You have me. Time will prove it, I guess, but you have me. Now and forever.”

Tears trekked down Lotor’s face, dripping into his lap. “Everyone else left.”

“I’ll just have to prove that I won’t. One day at a time, I’ll stay. I won’t leave.”

“I wish I could believe you.” His voice was just a ghost, almost too faint to catch.

Keith retracted his hand, opting to instead wrap his arms around Lotor’s waist and pull him close. “It’s okay. Tonight you don’t have to.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“You deserve the universe, Lotor.”

They sat in silence for several minutes, Lotor wrapped in Keith’s arms, tears still falling. They breathed in tandem, in and out, one breath at a time. Quiet and comfortable, slowly, Lotor relaxed.

“Please stay, Keith.” His voice broke on the name, a sob bubbling in his chest.

“Forever. I’m here.” Keith pressed his lips to Lotor’s sharp jaw, a promise planted on his skin. “Now sleep. I’ll be here when you wake and I’ll stay every day after that. You’ll see.”

Engulfed in a secure embrace and soft blankets, Lotor managed to drift. And as his mind succumbed to sleep, for one beautiful moment, he believed Keith’s words. And he hoped that someday soon, he’d keep believing him.

For now, he slept. 

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on other sites:
> 
> tumblr: @glitch-h  
> insta: @caramelmacchiatoart  
> twitter: @lotorotor


End file.
